Jun Uozumi
Jun Uozomi (魚住純 Uozumi Jun) is a third-year and the captain of the Ryonan High School basketball team, as well as the center. After Ryonan lost to Shohoku in the Kanagawa final four tournament, Uozumi left Ryonan to train as a chef Appearance Uozumi's most notable trait is his height, which at 202 centimeters makes him Kanagawa's tallest basketball player and the second-tallest seen in the series overall, with only Mikio Kawata being taller than him. Uozumi is rather pale-skinned with frizzy black hair, and like Akagi he has a stern expression and big lips. While not on the court Uozumi usually wears a standard Ryonan jacket and trousers or his light blue and white short sleeve Ryonan shirt tucked into his trousers, and while on the court he wears the standard Ryonan uniform with the number 4 on it. The color of his jersey is white and blue and its alternate is blue and white. When he is about to leave to work as a chef, Uozumi wears a standard Ryonan summer school uniform; a white short sleeve button shirt with a single pocket, dark green pants and black shoes. Their standard Ryonan winter school uniforms were depicted as dark green which Sendoh shows it before he changes to his jersey attire in their practice match against Shohoku. As a chef and during the Shohoku-Sannoh match and afterwards, Uozumi has been seen in a chef's robe. In his younger years, Uozumi has ragged flat hair with a full fringe. Personality Uozumi often has a very stern personality, and is not likely to lighten up around anyone, regardless of how he feels about them. Relationships Teammates Akira Sendoh Uozumi has massive respect for Sendoh. He has admitted numerous times that he is the true ace of Ryonan. He always has complete faith in Sendoh's abilites, he confidently told Maki that Sendoh would defeat him and take the title as Kanagawa number 1 during the Ryonan Vs Kainan game. After his retirement he immediately declares Sendoh as the new captain. Rivals Takenori Akagi He considers Takenori Akagi his rival, but has never managed to personally beat him, although Ryonan has beaten Shohoku on occasion. However their rivalry is not antagonistic. There is mutual respect that borders on friendship. When Akagi received lots of praises from the crowd during their game against Toyotama, the latter considers Uozumi to be the better center in his mind for some reason. When Akagi was outplayed and discouraged by Masashi in the match against Sannoh, Uozumi was able to restore Akagi's spirits. Hanamichi Sakuragi During the exhibition game, Uozumi considered Sakuragi to be a rookie pest. But in the match against Shohoku, Uozumi was completely surprised about Sakuragi's improvement and also became annoyed when Sakuragi boasts to his teammates to beat them in the match. In both Japanese and English Dub, Sakuragi called him as "boss monkey" due to his immense physical presence similar to Akagi's. But on the Filipino Dub, he called him as "bakulaw" a Filipino term of a monster or a beast. Plot In his 1st year, he was very weak and always throws up outside the gym during practices. Because of this, his teammates with the exception of Ikegami looks down on him as someone who has nothing but height. He told Coach Taoka that he wanted to quit basketball because he doesn't want to be a burden anymore. However, the strict Taoka told his aspirations for Ryonan, which inspired him to keep going and share the dream with him. His determination went to fruition as he became well-known as, "Big Jun" for his defensive presence. One time he saw a spectating player about his size during a game. He went to ask who the person was and one answered that it may be the 193 cm center from Shohoku. Since then Uozumi looked forward to playing against him. In his 2nd year, a year prior to the series, Uozumi got totally shutdown by Akagi under the basket and could not score though Ryonan's victory is already guaranteed. They were up by 34 points (82-48). Sendoh tells him that it's okay. Despite the win, Uozumi could not accept that there's someone better like Akagi due to the fact that the latter was shorter than him. The insults against him for having nothing but height went back to his mind. He vowed to himself that he'll never lose to Akagi again and trained hard since then. Shohoku Vs Ryonan Practice Match Abilities Strengths Uozumi's size and power are among the highest in high school basketball. He is the 2nd tallest (202 cm) in the entire series with only Mikio Kawata (210 cm) of Sannoh being taller than him. He is considered as one of the top centers in the Kanagawa prefecture along with Akagi and Hanagata. He is extremely dominant on rebounds and even beat both Sakuragi and Akagi at one time. His defensive presence poses a challenge even for Akagi. While offense is not his strong suit, he does have his moments of dominance, such as the game against Takezato where he had 35 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Furthermore, he started the run for Ryonan against Shohoku as soon as he comes back. His acceptance on Akagi being the better center had a positive effect on his game. Not only did he outlast the 4 fouls he had but his involvement on offensive plays, which was mostly seen during the practice match between Shohoku and the combined team of Shoyo and Ryonan. Weaknesses His bad temper and lack of control in game situations has led to serious consequences for his team on more than one occasion. During the real match with Shohoku, Sakuragi tricked him into committing his fourth foul and was forced to warm the bench for much of the second half. His ejection from the game with Kainan was a huge blow for Ryonan as all the pressure went to Sendoh who forced an overtime but still lost. However, his sudden maturity and acceptance on Akagi being the better center finally erased this weakness, especially his ego. History Past Ryonan vs Shohoku (Exhibition Game) The night before the game, he was mentioned by Hikochi and Kogure, who talked about how he got shut down by Akagi a year earlier. The next day, Uozumi is first seen greeting Coach Anzai, then turning around to look at Akagi. Watching Shohoku Ryonan vs. Takezato Uozumi lead his team to destroy Takezato, gaining a 31-8 lead quickly in the game. At one point, Coach Taoka pulled him and Sendoh out to conserve their energy, sending them back in for the last parts of the game. Uozumi played very well, scoring 35 points, getting 17 rebounds, and making four blocks as Ryonan dominated Takezato 117-64. Watching Shohoku vs. Kainan Ryonan vs. Kainan During the Ryonan-Kainan game, Uozumi was mostly posting up under the basket, blocking Kainan's shots. However, in the second half of the game, Kiyota, Maki, and Takasago all managed to get past him, getting him fouled in the process. After the game, while shaking hands with Maki, the latter warned them that the Shohoku players are dangerous opponents. Ryonan vs. Shohoku (Final League) Watching Shohoku vs. Sannoh He was the one able to restore Akagi's spirit after the latter is outmatched by Masashi Kawata, reminding him of his role in the team. Quotes To Takenori Akagi: ''"Kawata with a brilliant technique is a snapper. Do you think you're worth these words, Akagi ? You're just a flounder! Go hide yourself in the mud, then."''Category:Characters Category:Basketball Players Category:Centers Category:Kanagawa Players Category:High School 3rd Years